Unless you're going cross-country or to Europe, it seems (and even then!) the days of getting a free meal on board an airplane are long gone. Some airlines even have the nerve to charge for piddly snacks that used to be obvious freebies. It's really sad. But it's also why something that happened aboard a recent Delta flight was so cool ...

En route to Atlanta from Boston, the plane was diverted due to inclement weather, and ended up sitting on the runway in Knoxville, Tennessee for several hours. (Ugh! And I thought having to endure a five-hour delay while hanging out in the Fort Lauderdale airport was a pain in the neck!) So, in what appears to be an effort to prevent passengers from getting hungry and, in turn, outraged, the airline, TSA, and local police banded together to ... throw a pizza party on the plane! Ha, yes, really!!

By law, Delta was only supposed to give the passengers airline snacks, but clearly, they saw the merit in supplying a real, hot meal. They even jumped through major hoops to do so. The TSA had to screen the slices (ha, wow) and the local law enforcement turned on their sirens to bring the pies out to the plane.

What an ordeal! But it definitely sounds well worth all the trouble. Because, seriously, at this point, getting free anything on a plane is a miracle these days. Getting a bag of chips makes your day! And pffft, let's not even discuss the quality of the food that's usually up for grabs when you're up in the air. You could find more gourmet food at a rest stop. Uck. But even more reason these Delta passengers must've been over the moon happy after being given pipin' hot pizza.

One passenger named Shallandra Schrader told WXIA News in Atlanta of the situation, "I think it's awesome, especially if people had kids on the plane." Too true.

Goes to show air travel doesn't have to be devoid of joy and tasty food!